The Genesis Invitational 2024 First Round Leader Tips: Morikawa to go low on Thursday

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Tee-times are set for the Genesis Invitational and I’ve picked out three selections who I’m hoping will make a fast start to what should be a fun week at Riviera.

There will be no clear morning/afternoon wave this week, with the 70-man field teeing off in groups of (mostly) three from the first tee. They start at 07:20 and the following groups then tee off at 11-minute intervals until the final 12:06 tee-time.

The weather shows no huge bias. It’s cool and less breezy in the morning and whilst the winds are expected to increase for those later starters, it’s nothing too severe and should be offset by the slightly warmer temperatures.

Having said that, there has been a noticeable trend of later starters holding sway in round one in recent years, with seven of the last ten first-round leaders going off in the second wave. Therefore, I will split my FRL selections 2:1 in favour of those beginning their week a little later on Thursday.

1.5 pts Collin Morikawa each way (1/4, 5 places) First-Round Leader - 25/1

Start time: 11:42

I’m going to commence with Collin Morikawa, who continues to be one of the best first-round scorers on tour. With his excellent record at Riviera, he can take advantage of teeing off in the third-last group and top the leaderboard at the end of Thursday’s opening round.

Morikawa has started the season well, finishing 5^th in The Sentry and then bouncing back from a missed cut in the Farmers Insurance Open to finish 14^th at Pebble Beach. However, it is the noticeably speedy starts that he’s been making that caught the eye.

On that last start at Pebble Beach, he shot the third-best score in round one at the main host course. Which followed on from him sitting inside the top 10 after the opening round at Torrey Pines and he was 2^nd at the end of the first round in The Sentry.

This is a continuation of what he was doing at the end of 2023, as he led after round one in his two final official starts of the year - at the Tour Championship and ZOZO Championship - and sat in the top 10 in three of his four starts prior to those.

Morikawa has transferred this quick-starting ability to Riviera, firing a 67 to sit 6^th after round one in 2022 – eventually finishing 2^nd - and a 66 had him end the opening day in 4^th last year. Indeed, he has shot seven of his last eight rounds in the 60s here, including a closing 65 in 2022.

1.25 pts Cameron Young each way (1/4, 5 places) First-Round Leader - 33/1

Start time: 08:44

Cameron Young was joint runner-up with Morikawa here in 2022 and as another player who is making a habit of starting well, he looked the standout first-round contender from the earlier tee-times.

Young underwhelmed throughout much of the second half of 2023 but has started this year with promise. He had every chance in the Dubai Desert Classic, leading after each of the first three rounds before finally succumbing to Rory in round four. Last week he again looked good through three rounds in Phoenix, before eventually finishing 8^th.

Over those starts, Young held a share of the FRL in Dubai and sat 8^th in Phoenix. Despite the final results ultimately proving disappointing, he was doing a similar thing at the end of last year, recording first-round finishes of 3^rd, 3^rd, 6^th and 15^th in four of his final seven starts.

He has also started pretty well here in his only two visits. A 66 saw him sit 2^nd after round one in 2022 and a 68 was enough for a first-round position of 14^th last year; his ability to go low at Riviera is further highlighted by his incredible second-round 62 in 2022.

0.75 pts Patrick Rodgers each way (1/4, 5 places) First-Round Leader - 60/1

Start time: 11:06

I’m going to finish with Patrick Rodgers. The former amateur star has an appealing record at Riviera and if able to rediscover the standard of ball-striking that he’d shown over his opening three starts this year, he looks a lively outsider to reach the upper-echelons of the leaderboard on Thursday.

Rodgers started the season with a 14^th-place finish at The Sentry, a finish of 24^th in the Sony Open and then 9^th in the Farmers Insurance Open; producing encouraging golf tee-to-green across those starts.

That promise came to a shuddering end when finishing 79^th of 80 players at Pebble Beach. However, he is forgiven that on account of the chaotic weather-impacted nature of the tournament, and by the fact that barring his 8^th-place finish in that event in 2018, he has otherwise not performed well.

In contrast, Rodgers has several positive showings at Riviera, with five top-30 finishes in eight visits, including a best of 12^th in 2021. He has often started well, sitting 3^rd after round one in 2019, 19^th in 2017, 21^st in 2018 and 22^nd in 2022. Starting off this week in the sixth-last group, he looks well-positioned to do so again.

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